Chu's comments came in response to a question comparing the incidents from Representative Ed Whitfield, a Kentucky Republican, as Chu was testifying before the House of Representatives' Energy and Power Subcommittee.

"I think the events unfolding in Japan actually appear to me to be more serious than Three Mile Island," Chu said. "To what extent, we don't really know right now. They're unfolding on an hour-by-hour basis and there are conflicting reports."